England: Will Steve Borthwick rue ‘very simple’ decision in Marcus Smith v Fin Smith debate?
Fin Smith (left) and Marcus Smith (right) kicking for England against France
England head coach Steve Borthwick has confirmed Marcus Smith will retain the kicking duties this weekend, despite Fin Smith taking over from the Quins ace against France.
M. Smith, who once again starts at fullback this weekend with Northampton namesake Fin at fly-half, has been England’s designated goal-kicker since the World Cup.
Marcus Smith to retain England kicking duties for Scotland Test
Speaking to the media ahead of the Calcutta Cup clash with Scotland, Borthwick said: “He’s a world-class goal-kicker. We all know that, so it’s very simple.”
But, is he as good a kicker as Borthwick thinks?
The whole conversation surrounding the kicking duties has come following fly-half Fin taking over the duties late into the France Test last time out, with the Northampton man going on to post a 100% success rate from the tee and knock over the game-winning conversion in the 79th minute.
It isn’t just this one game that has brought the Quins ace’s kicking under the spotlight, either. In England’s narrow 16-15 loss to the All Blacks back in July, Smith’s missed kicks at goal were again the difference.
Which Smith should Borthwick pick?
Currently, M. Smith finds himself bottom of the goal-kicking charts in the whole Six Nations, posting just a 57% success rate (4/7). Only Sam Prendergast, Thomas Ramos and Tommaso Allan are the only players in the Championship to attempt more kicks at goal, and all three post a much higher success rate too.
Ireland’s Prendergast is currently sitting on 66.7% (6/9), France kicker Ramos is on 72.7% (8/11) and Italian counterpart Allen currently has a record of 84.6% (11/13).
Whilst these are taken from a fairly small pool, after all, there have only been two rounds; but this could be the difference between winning and losing the Six Nations.
In contrast, namesake Fin has posted a success rate of 100% from the tee this Championship (2/2), and done it when the pressure was on as well.
Club kicking rate suggests different
It could very easily be a blip from the Quins ace, who has previously opened up on the work he has done on his goal-kicking, and that has certainly come to the fore in the Premiership this season.
At the time of writing, Marcus Smith leads the way from the tee in the English top flight. In the opening 11 rounds, Smith has knocked over 96% of his attempts at goal (27/28) and currently ranks above Ethan Grayson on 90% (9/10), Harry Byrne on 88 (7/8) and Handre Pollard on 86% (32/37).
He also currently boasts a higher success rate than his England teammate Fin Smith, with the Northampton man posting a success rate of 78.6% (33/42).
The Quins ace also posts a higher number in the Champions Cup as well, with Marcus Smith on 75% (16/20) compared to Fin Smith on 66.7% (18/24).
With all the numbers added up, it actually seems Marcus is the better kicker, with him posting an 85.5% (47/55) success rate across the season compared to Fin’s 77.9% (53/68).
Clutch moments
But, a big tick in the Northampton man’s box is his goals have come at clutch moments this year, both for Northampton and England. These moments against Bath and France, where his last-gaps kick won the game, show he has the sort of mindset to ice the big moments.
Maybe, it could come down to that again?
